Priebus Takes On Media Bias

By

L. Brent Bozell III

August 6, 2013 - 10:59pm

Republican National Committee chairman Reince Priebus is doing the
right thing. He’s making the national media’s blatant partisan bias a
prominent issue right out of the gate to Campaign 2016. Priebus sent a
letter to CNN president Jeff Zucker and NBC Entertainment chairman
Robert Greenblatt demanding they cease efforts to air promotional
Hillary Clinton films on their airwaves, or he’ll seek to stop any
effort to allow presidential debates on their networks.

“It’s appalling to know executives at major networks like NBC and CNN
who have donated to Democrats and Hillary Clinton have taken it upon
themselves to be Hillary Clinton’s campaign operatives,” the RNC chair
declared. “Their actions to promote Secretary Clinton are disturbing and
disappointing. I hope Americans will question the credibility of these
networks and that NBC and CNN will reconsider their partisan actions and
cancel these political ads masked as unbiased entertainment.”

NN’s response was especially pompous. Cutting off CNN debates “seems to
be the ultimate disservice to voters," they responded. As if CNN anchor
John King leading off a debate by prodding Newt Gingrich about his sex
life was a vital public service.

NBC
protested that NBC News isn’t making the docudrama, as if they aren’t
all in the same liberal boat. Their statement could have read: “We at
NBC News are not Clinton puppets. Just because at the behest of
President Clinton we hired his daughter Chelsea as a correspondent when
she had zero journalistic experience doesn’t mean we should be
considered in the tank.”

The other networks were spinning furiously. “Republicans are now
threatening retaliation,” proclaimed ABC News anchor Josh Elliott. Then
came Claire Shipman – White House spokesman Jay Carney’s wife – to spit
on the “rabble” and their protest. “Enough, say rabble Republicans, who
call the projects political ads.”

That’s ABC News for you. Republicans are “rabble,” while unwashed
Occupy Wall Street activists are the conscience of the country.

The two networks have different plans. CNN has a “CNN Films” subsidiary
that farms out political documentaries to “independent” (left-wing)
filmmakers. For a Hillary film, they chose leftist Charles Ferguson, who
didn’t sound “independent” in the CNN press release. "I am very excited
to be making a film about Hillary Rodham Clinton, whose fascinating
life and work embody so many of America’s, and the world’s, hopes and
challenges.”

The “rabble” sees it differently.

NBC is making one of those annoying “docudramas” about Hillary,
starring glamorous actress Diane Lane. Their Hollywood folks insisted
this project has no script or production plan, so it’s “premature to
draw any conclusions.” Greenblatt & Co. want all the buzz that comes
from announcing a Hillary drama, and none of the blowback about its
inevitable political tilt.

It’s not “premature” to presume Hillary puff pieces. But it’s long
overdue for the Republican Party to protest abusive treatment from the
national media elite, especially in crucial debates.

It happened again on July 20, in a Virginia gubernatorial debate
moderated by “PBS NewsHour” anchor Judy Woodruff. Many of the questions
balanced out, but not on the social issues. Woodruff prodded Democrat
Terry McAuliffe from the left: “A new poll this week showing 50 percent
of Virginians, 55 percent of Virginia women, now favor same-sex
marriage. So as governor, would you push to allow gays and lesbians in
this state to have the right to marry?” She pushed twice for gay
marriage.

For
“balance,” she then whacked Republican Ken Cuccinelli on abortion from
the left: “I want to ask if as governor, you would push for even tougher
restrictions, such as those on states like Louisiana, where they
include legally defining life as beginning at conception, in other
words, effectively prohibiting virtually all abortions. And on
contraception! Would you again seek to make several forms, common forms
of contraception illegal, as you did several years ago?” Cuccinelli
denied doing any such thing.

Woodruff also threw this follow-up at Cuccinelli: “You said several
years ago that you believe that same-sex acts are ‘against nature’ and
are ‘harmful to society.’ Do you still believe that?” The secular media
moderators suggest a religious test: No Catholics need apply for public
office. In Woodruff’s world, government should subsidize contraception
and abortion, religious liberty be damned.

Woodruff also asked both candidates directly whether they thought
Republican Gov. Robert McDonnell should resign over ethical scandals.
She didn’t ask if Obama should resign over the IRS or Benghazi scandals.

Republicans need to go above and beyond and around the “objective”
media in their debates. On the occasions when Republicans agree to these
“objective” debate moderators, they have to take a page from Newt
Gingrich in the last campaign and fight back against their relentless
attempts to paint the GOP into some wacky and “extremist” corner.

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